Evidence Tab

FlexNet Manager Suite 2019 R2 (On-Premises Edition)

FlexNet Manager Suite collects inventory evidence from a variety of systems and imports this raw evidence data into an intermediate database, where it is tested to see if it matches entries within the Application Recognition Library. Data that is successfully matched by a rule from the Application Recognition Library is linked to the recognized ARL entry. Data that isn't successfully matched is saved into the compliance database and stored for possible future matching as the Application Recognition Library is updated and expanded.

The Evidence tab lets you investigate application recognition issues. Start here by reviewing all the raw evidence imported from this inventory device.

  • To understand why an application is unexpectedly recognized, find it in the Assigned application column, and you can see the matching evidence found on the inventory device.
  • To see why an expected application is not recognized, find appropriate evidence in this tab that has an Assigned value of No. Then go to the application properties, and in that Evidence tab you can see the rule from the Application Recognition Library. If the rule cannot match the imported evidence, the application cannot be recognized.

Here are some more examples of when and how you could use this evidence:

  • A server with SQL Server 2014 Standard installed is being reported by FlexNet Manager Suite as having two different editions of SQL Server installed. You can investigate this by checking the evidence that caused recognition of the second edition. In the appropriate sub-tab for your chosen evidence type, use the name of the incorrectly recognized edition to filter on the Application Name field to view the evidence on this device that caused the unexpected report.
  • An application installed on a server is not recognized as installed in FlexNet Manager Suite. Investigate by attempting to locate any evidence that may be associated with the application. If the evidence has an Assigned application entry, then it has already matched the Application Recognition Library rule, and by definition it is sufficient evidence. You can also look for any evidence from the publisher which does not have a value in the Assigned application column and attach this evidence to an existing Application Recognition Library record where there is one ("Flexera extended"); or create your own application record and evidence ("Local"), and optionally request a new Application Recognition Library evidence rule (typically, wildcarded) that will match the imported evidence record. This approach gives you an immediate solution while you await the appropriate Application Recognition Library update.

Duplicated evidence rows

Duplicate rows of imported evidence may occur for the following reasons:

  1. Multiple sources: An individual piece of evidence from multiple sources matching the same rule:
    • This is the most common reason for duplicated rows of evidence. This behavior is by design, so that you can compare the differences in evidence returned from different inventory sources.
    • Required action: None. This is deliberate and normal behavior.
  2. Multiple rules: An individual piece of evidence from one source matching more than one evidence rule:
    • Imagine that there are two evidence rules:

      Publisher: "Flex%", Name: "%", Version: "%"

      Publisher: "Flexera", Name: "%", Version: "%"

    • Required action: You should review whether both rules are needed. If both are linked to the same application, it won't impact recognition, and so shouldn't be an issue. If there are any concerns and both have a source of Flexera then you may choose to discuss with the Content team.
  3. Multiple products: On a single inventory device, one piece of evidence is used to recognize SQL Server (Unknown component) 2012, and separate pieces of evidence also identify SQL Server Management Tools 2012 and SQL Server 2012 Standard applications. The precedence rules in the Application Recognition Library identify that the "unknown component" could be each of these two recognized applications, and so two separate rows must appear in the Evidence tab so that both these applications are identified:
    • In the first row, the Assigned application shows SQL Server (Unknown component) 2012, and the Recognized application column displays SQL Server Management Tools 2012.
    • In the second of these rows, the Assigned application still shows SQL Server (Unknown component) 2012, while the Recognized application column now displays SQL Server 2012 Standard.
    • Required action: No action is required. Do not be confused by the same value for Assigned application in two rows, but use the Recognized application values to better understand the applications you expect to see in the Applications tab in the properties for this inventory device.
  4. Duplicate evidence: Records that appear identical may be distinct at lower levels of detail. For example, evidence collected by Microsoft SCCM might include different product codes, such as 6.01, 6.02, 6.03 and so on.
    • FlexNet Manager Suite displays these records separately, although the low-level differences may not be visible. However, this is not a concern, because the evidence is merged to recognize a single application.
    • Required action: No action is required since the evidence is merged and matches a single application.
The evidence available on this tab is of the following types, selectable with the sub-tabs at the top of the page:
Each record includes details of the inventory source for this evidence, whether the evidence is recognized by the Application Recognition Library, and whether it is assigned to an application or not.
Note: Each application installation can have multiple evidence records and therefore you should check each sub-tab to view each evidence found.
Restriction: The Evidence tab is not available when any of the following is true:
  • You are manually creating a new record for an inventory device
  • The inventory device is a VDI template or a mobile device
  • There is no inventory source (or the inventory source is Manual) reporting this inventory device.